Another HTPC question

[mothball_611]

Good evening,

I have a HTPC set-up as below:

Asus E35 M1-M Pro
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C8 1333MHz
OCZ 500w Stealth Xstream
OCZ Vertex 30GB SATA-II SSD
WD Caviar Green 2TB
Samsung Blu-Ray drive
Noctua NF-S12B FLX Ultra Quiet 120mm Flexible Cooling Fan x 2
Antec Fusion Remote HTPC case

Runs Ubuntu.

I've had it for about a year and it has a problem that I've lived with.

Whenever a picture pans on the tv the image looses definition/becomes slightly pixilated. It also doesn't play Blu-Ray style MKV files with much success. The film loads but within a few seconds the audio falls out of sync with the video and the video itself starts to stutter and jump.

I've tried different resolutions and the same files/films on my gaming rig, and they play without any issues.

So I'm beginning to think it's a processing (or lack of) problem. Any takers?

I suppose a slightly more powerful system would get over these problems.

Requirements wise, the HTPC:

-must output combined video/audio through HDMI
-must be FULL HD video/audio
-any new motherboard must fit in the case I've got so mini-ITX/etc.
-new system to run Windows 8
-plays movies/music/streams off BBC iplayer and so on. No gaming.
-budget isn't an issue
-system will be connected to the tv through a home theatre amp

I appreciate going for an i7 based system would be a bit excessive so I'm thinking i5, with this motherboard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-530-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071

This processor:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

And this cooler:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-027-SY&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2350


Any ideas/tips would be appreciated.

 

[mothball_611]

For an HTPC an trinity set up is ideal as they have enough power to easily play 1080p video.

Thanks Firefly. Nice build. Interesting article. Are you running this set-up? The processor gives a refresh rate of 23.977 Hz. I'm concerned this might result in a stutter. Anything other than smooth playback at 1080p and max resolution isn't really what I'm after.

Presumably your motherboard and vga drivers are all upto date

They are.

My almost identical setup

May I ask what's different?

A low end AMD 5450 card, or better yet a 6450 card should take the load off your HTPC's dinky little APU.

Definitely something to look at. The only thing that bothers me getting a separate video card is I'm trying to keep the cables at a minimum, hence the requirement to output audio/video through HDMI.

However.....this might do the job:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-259-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1985

Unless you need a full OS on it have a tried OpenELEC they have some XBMC builds made for AMD APUs.
Might be worth a try.

I'll look into that.

Thanks guys. Keep them coming!

 

[mothball_611]

Sorry for the late reply. Running Windows 7 now, and the computer is running much better. It's even playing blu-ray and blu-ray copies without stuttering. However, it's still struggling with one particular mkv file, a copy of a blu-ray. About 5 seconds into the file playback the video stutters and the audio falls completely out of sync, just as before. This file plays well on my i7 computer/laptop, so it's probably a bad copy.

Thanks for the tips/advice everyone.